Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of ANWA's frequently asked questions. For Conference FAQs, click here

Joining ANWA

What are the qualifications for joining ANWA?

You must be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who likes to write. You do not need to be published to join ANWA.

How do I join ANWA?

On the Home Page, look for the Quick Links menu and click on Join ANWA. Read about our membership plans and then click on “Continue to Registration.” Make sure you CHOOSE a membership plan by clicking on the circle next to the plan. Fill out the registration form and click “Sign up.” Boxes with a star next to them are required input.

If you have selected our Annual Membership to ANWA $24.00 plan, then your registration must be approved before you will be asked to pay the membership fee. You will receive an email when it is time to log back in to the website and pay. The first time you log in to the website, after approval, you will be directed to a payment screen. If you are a new member, don’t forget to input the code for a first year discount.

If my membership has expired, should I join again?

No, you should still use the username and password that you set up previously. If you try to join again, you will receive an error message that your email address is already in use.

Instead, see the instructions for “How do I renew my membership?” under Membership Issues below.

How do I find out which ANWA region and chapter I would join?

From the Home page top menu, click on ANWA and then Find Your Region.

Use the map to determine in which Region you live.

From the Home page top menu, click on ANWA and then Find a Chapter.

Enter your City, State, or Zip Code to do a Chapter search for Chapters near you.

If you don’t have a Chapter near you, search for an online chapter. If you don’t want to join any of ANWA’s local or online chapters, you can choose to be a Member-At-Large and forego the benefits of joining an ANWA Chapter.

If you aren’t sure, confirm your Chapter choice by emailing our Membership Chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

What can I expect when I join ANWA as a paid member?

In order to be a full Member of ANWA, you must have paid your annual dues. If you filled out the membership application and did not pay your dues, you are not yet a member of ANWA. Please contact our Treasurer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to resolve the issue.

Once dues have been paid, a Mentor from the Membership Committee will contact each new member as soon as they can after the Membership Chair posts the information.

The Mentor will:

Check that the new member elected the best chapter for them,

Contact the chapter president and give them the new member’s information,

Contact the Communication Chair and give them the new member’s information so that ANWA newsletters and other official announcements might be received,

Email the new member a welcome to ANWA,

Ask for the new member’s Facebook name so they can befriend the member and invite them to ANWA’s FB group.

The Chapter President will:

Email a welcome to the chapter with information about the next meeting date, time, and place,

Send out a Yahoo Group invite (if the chapter is an online group) and provide the new member with the URL to the Chatzy Room (ONLINE GROUPS ONLY,)

Ask for the new member’s Facebook name so they can befriend the member and invite them to the Chapter FB group (if the chapter has one.)

If any of these steps are missed when you join ANWA, please contact the Membership Chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or ANWA’s President at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

How do I join an online or local chapter?

If you think you did not choose the right chapter when you filled out the membership application form, you can edit your chapter on the website and select the online chapter you want to join. See FAQ’s “How do I change My Membership profile information?”

A member of the Membership Committee will contact you soon after you join ANWA and mentor you through the process of affiliating with a chapter, online or local. If they haven't contacted you, or you changed your chapter affiliation after joining, email the Membership Committee Chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. They will connect you with the president of your chapter.

LOGGING IN

Why do I need a username and password to access your website?

Many of the benefits of the website, including registration for conference and retreats, require log in information. Other parts of the website are only accessible to paid ANWA members using their log in information.

I can’t Log In. What do I do?

Try again. Our website has been known to take a couple of tries to log in.

If you are still having trouble, you can try to reset your password (see instructions below.)

If you still can’t log in, please use the Contact Us button at the top of the Home page to access our contact form OR email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will do our best to respond within 24 hours.

What if I don’t remember my username or password?

From the Home page, look for the Quick Links menu and click on Log In. Then click on “Forgot Login?”

Click on Lost Username or Lost Password.

Check your email for an email from ANWA with your lost information.
If you wait more than five minutes and there is no email form ANWA, check your spam folder for the email first.

If the email is not in your spam folder, please use the Contact Us button at the top of the Home page to access our contact form OR email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask us to manually reset your password. We will do our best to respond within 24 hours. We’ve had some issues with our password reset and we are happy to personally assist you. We will give you a temporary password, and then you can log in and change your password yourself.

How do I change my password?

Log in to the website by clicking on Log In on the Quick Links menu on the Home page.

Click on Edit and then Update my Profile in the top left hand corner.

Click on Contact Information.

Scroll down and type a new password twice.

Click Update.

MEMBERSHIP & RENEWAL

How do I renew my membership?

Log in to the website by clicking on Log In on the Quick Links menu on the Home page. If you are already logged in, click on My Website Profile on the Quick Links menu on the Home page.

Scroll down to the file folders under your picture/avatar and click on the Membership folder.

Click on Renew Now or Resubscribe. It will take you to a payment screen where you can choose to pay via paypal or mail in a check.

How do I change from a free website subscription plan to a paid member plan?

Log in to the website by clicking on Log In on the Quick Links menu on the Home page. If you are already logged in, click on My Website Profile on the Quick Links menu on the Home page.

Click on Edit and then Update my Profile in the top left hand corner.

Click on Other Information. Please add your address, phone number, ward , stake, chapter, and region. This information is required to approve your membership application. If you would like to add your Portrait at this time, click the Portrait folder. Click Update.

Scroll down to the file folders under your picture/avatar and click on the Membership folder.

Click on the circle next to the ANWA Membership to ANWA $24 plan. Click on Upgrade. It will take you to a payment screen where you can choose to pay via paypal or mail in a check.

Your membership will be approved after you have paid. If you are not LDS and a writer, your application fee will be refunded in full.

OTHER MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS

How do I change My Membership profile information?

Log in to the website by clicking on Log In on the top menu.

Click on Edit and then Update my Profile in the top left hand corner.

Portrait tab – changes your picture/avatar in the center of the page. You can Upload an image (at least 250x250) or choose from the website’s gallery.

Contact Info tab – changes your name, email, website/blog, username or password. You can also add the name of any other ANWA members in your household for the Family Discount.

How do I add my author profile and my published books to ANWA Authors and Bookshelf?

For information on how to update author and book information on the ANWA website, visit americannightwriters.org/website-submissions.

How do I attend my online chapter meeting?

Log in to the website by clicking on Log In on the Home page Quick Links menu. After you log in, a new menu item "Online Meeting Room" will appear on the Quick Links menu. It will take you directly to the Chatzy meeting room used for ANWA's online chapters. Alternately, your chapter president can give you the Internet address (URL) of the Chatzy meeting room. They will also give you the current password. It's good to show up a few minutes before the chapter meeting begins as you need to get logged in. Please put your real name in the indicated box so your chapter members will recognize you during the meeting. Choose a color. Your name will be this color in the "chat room box." Don't worry if two of you choose the same color. If it's bothersome, one of you can exit the room and change colors. Put in the password and enter the room.

What can I expect during an online meeting?

When you enter the chat room, your chapter members will be joining, and will greet you. The meeting will last about an hour. There will be a prayer to open and to close the meeting. It will be typed in and followed by all members typing "amen."

The usual format is business, a brief thought about writing, a 15 minute lesson, and the balance of the time is spent discussing members writing that has been submitted for critiques.

You'll learn how to upload a file containing no more than a chapter of your writing to a special folder where other chapter members will critique it BEFORE the chapter meeting. They will put their evaluations in another folder, where you may retrieve the file to read. During the meeting, members will discuss highlights of what they found in your submitted piece of work. Downloading their critiques will give you a much fuller overlook of your work than you would receive at a local meeting.

When an hour has passed, the prayer will be offered, and the formal meeting will end. Sometimes some of a chapter's members may linger to chat afterward. If you are ready to leave the meeting room just excuse yourself and type /bye.

How do I start a new chapter?

Find four other women in your area who would like to create an ANWA chapter (a total of five women are required to start a chapter.)

At least one of the women must join ANWA as a paid member in order to access the New Chapter forms on the website. (See the instructions above for How do I join ANWA?)

Choose a Chapter Leader to facilitate the organization of the chapter.

The Chapter Leader should read and follow the instructions found in Members Resources under the Form a New Chapter tab (Log In. On the top menu click Members and then Member Resources. Click Form a New Chapter.)

After all of the instructions are followed and the forms are completed, the Chapter Leader submits a Petition to Be Organized to the Membership Chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Membership Chair submits the petition to the Board of Directors, who votes to approve or disapprove formation of your new chapter.

I Just got elected chapter officer. How do I receive training for this position?

How do I vote?

Voting for new Executive Officers takes place in November of every year.

To vote, click on the "Members" page on the main menu, then select "Vote."

Do you have other questions that were not addressed?

Please use the Contact Us button at the top of the Home page to access our contact form OR email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We would love to hear from you. We try to respond within 24 hours. If you see any problems with the instructions in our FAQ’s, please let us know.